Cavalier Breeders Encouraged To Take Part In Health Testing Survey

26 November 2015 00:00

The Kennel Club (KC) and British Veterinary Association (BVA)
have launched a survey to gather views on health testing from
breeders of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels to identify what more
can be done to protect the health of this much-loved breed.

During the three years in which the BVA/KC screening scheme for
Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia (CM/SM) has been running,
around 200 Kennel Club registered Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
have been graded, and the Kennel Club and BVA would now like to
understand breeders' awareness and attitudes towards the
scheme.

The survey can be completed by any breeder who has bred a litter
of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels since 2012 and will run for two
weeks until midnight on Sunday 6th December. The Kennel Club
has already contacted almost 1,600 breeders who have registered a
litter with it since 2012, and is keen for other breeders who do
not register their litters with the Kennel Club to take the survey
to help build a stronger picture on the practise of health testing
in the breed.

Information gathered from the survey will help the Kennel Club and
BVA to develop the scheme, including the development of an ongoing
two-way dialogue between the Kennel Club and the Cavalier community
to find ways to urgently address health concerns in the
breed.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "The breed is one of
the most popular in the UK and we want to get a good picture of why
breeders are choosing not to screen their dogs for known health
issues such as CM/SM if they are not using an existing
scheme.

"Responsible breeders should be health testing any dogs they breed
from but we are not seeing this reflected in the number of Cavalier
breeders who are currently using the BVA/KC scheme for CM/SM so it
is crucial to find out why.

"The health of any breed is largely in the hands of the breeders
and we want to ensure that we are making things as easy as possible
for them to make breeding choices that will have a positive effect
on the breed and its health. We would encourage as many Cavalier
breeders as possible to give us their views and try to help us to
improve the health of this breed."